Most socially conservative county with a population of over 500,000?

[All Along The Watchtower]

Which large (over 500,000 people) county (s) in America would you say is the most socially conservative?

Define "socially conservative" in any way you wish.

[freepcrusher]

Which large (over 500,000 people) county (s) in America would you say is the most socially conservative?

Define "socially conservative" in any way you wish.

Utah County, UT

Social Conservative = opposition to social engineering schemes

[ElectionsGuy]

Utah, UT. Definitely

[RedSLC]

Utah County, Utah, hands down. It's home to the biggest socon legislators in the state (like State Senator John Valentine, an extreme anti-alcohol zealot behind Utah's infamous "Zion curtain" laws), and consistently gives strong support to socon causes. Amendment 3, which banned gay marriage and civil unions back in 2004 had the strongest support here of any county in the state, with 82% voting in favor. Not even the rural counties could match Utah.

The closest runner-up would be Montgomery County, Texas, but it's neither as heavily populated or as conservative as Utah County (although, it certainly is very right-wing, don't get me wrong). For counties that meet the actual 500k threshold, I'd order them, starting with the most socially conservative:

1. Utah County, UT
2. Oklahoma County, OK
3. Kern County, CA
4. Collin County, TX
5. Tulsa County, OK
6. El Paso County, CO
 

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Sheesh.  Even South Carolina's most populous county, Greenville, has only 451,225 people.  However, it's also one of the more socially conservative counties in South Carolina and the most social conservative large county. It was the only one of our counties with >125K population to have a >20% No vote on Amendment 1 which allowed for there to be charity raffles.

It's not as strong a Republican county as Horry or Anderson, but it is more socially conservative due in part to a strongly socially conservative African-American community that votes Democratic because of other issues.

[solarstorm]

I hope you don't mind if I paste the county list from Wikipedia to give a better overview:

Los Angeles County   California
Cook County   Illinois
Harris County   Texas
Maricopa County   Arizona
San Diego County   California
Orange County   California
Miami-Dade County   Florida
Kings County   New York
Dallas County   Texas
Queens County   New York
Riverside County   California
San Bernardino County   California
King County   Washington
Clark County   Nevada
Tarrant County   Texas
Santa Clara County   California
Broward County   Florida
Bexar County   Texas
Wayne County   Michigan
New York County   New York
Alameda County   California
Philadelphia County   Pennsylvania
Middlesex County[13]   Massachusetts
Suffolk County   New York
Sacramento County   California
Bronx County   New York
Palm Beach County   Florida
Nassau County   New York
Hillsborough County   Florida
Cuyahoga County   Ohio
Oakland County   Michigan
Allegheny County   Pennsylvania
Orange County   Florida
Franklin County   Ohio
Hennepin County   Minnesota
Fairfax County   Virginia
Travis County   Texas
Contra Costa County   California
Salt Lake County   Utah
Montgomery County   Maryland
St. Louis County   Missouri
Pima County   Arizona
Mecklenburg County   North Carolina
Fulton County   Georgia
Honolulu, City and County of[15]   Hawaiʻi
Wake County   North Carolina
Westchester County   New York
Milwaukee County   Wisconsin
Fresno County   California
Fairfield County[13]   Connecticut
Shelby County   Tennessee
DuPage County   Illinois
Pinellas County   Florida
Marion County   Indiana
Bergen County   New Jersey
Erie County   New York
Hartford County[13]   Connecticut
Prince George's County   Maryland
Duval County   Florida
Kern County   California
New Haven County[13]   Connecticut
Gwinnett County   Georgia
Collin County   Texas
Macomb County   Michigan
Ventura County   California
San Francisco, City and County of[10]   California
Middlesex County   New Jersey
El Paso County   Texas
Baltimore County   Maryland
Pierce County   Washington
Hidalgo County   Texas
Montgomery County   Pennsylvania
Worcester County[13]   Massachusetts
Hamilton County   Ohio
Essex County   New Jersey
Multnomah County   Oregon
Essex County[13]   Massachusetts
Jefferson County   Kentucky
Suffolk County[13]   Massachusetts
Oklahoma County   Oklahoma
Monroe County   New York
San Mateo County   California
Snohomish County   Washington
Denton County   Texas
Cobb County   Georgia
DeKalb County   Georgia
San Joaquin County   California
Lake County   Illinois
Norfolk County   Massachusetts
Will County   Illinois
Jackson County   Missouri
Bernalillo County   New Mexico
Lee County   Florida
Hudson County   New Jersey
Jefferson County   Alabama
Davidson County   Tennessee
El Paso County   Colorado
Fort Bend County   Texas
Denver, City and County of[12]   Colorado
District of Columbia[14]   District of Columbia
Monmouth County   New Jersey
Providence County[13]   Rhode Island
Bucks County   Pennsylvania
Polk County   Florida
Tulsa County   Oklahoma
Baltimore, City of[16]   Maryland
Kent County   Michigan
Arapahoe County   Colorado
Ocean County   New Jersey
Johnson County   Kansas
Delaware County   Pennsylvania
Anne Arundel County   Maryland
Washington County   Oregon
Bristol County   Massachusetts
Utah County   Utah
Jefferson County   Colorado
Brevard County   Florida
New Castle County   Delaware
Union County   New Jersey
Summit County   Ohio
Douglas County   Nebraska
Montgomery County   Ohio
Lancaster County   Pennsylvania
Ramsey County   Minnesota
Stanislaus County   California
Kane County   Illinois
Camden County   New Jersey
Dane County   Wisconsin
Chester County   Pennsylvania
Guilford County   North Carolina
Passaic County   New Jersey
Sedgwick County   Kansas
Plymouth County   Massachusetts
Volusia County   Florida

[Montgomery County   Texas]

[Flake]

solar, half of those counties you listed didn't even make sense.

[TDAS04]

Duval, FL, could be among the top 10. 

[jimrtex]

solar, half of those counties you listed didn't even make sense.

I think it was the largest counties in the country (since the list starts with the Top 3: Los Angeles, CA; Cook, IL; and Harris, TX.

[jimrtex]

Trimming out all of the no-possible ways leaves the following.

Harris County   Texas
Maricopa County   Arizona
Orange County   California
Riverside County   California
San Bernardino County   California
Tarrant County   Texas
Bexar County   Texas
Hillsborough County   Florida
Orange County   Florida
Salt Lake County   Utah
Mecklenburg County   North Carolina
Fresno County   California
Pinellas County   Florida
Duval County   Florida
Kern County   California
Gwinnett County   Georgia
Collin County   Texas
Hidalgo County   Texas
Oklahoma County   Oklahoma
Denton County   Texas
Cobb County   Georgia
Lee County   Florida
Davidson County   Tennessee
El Paso County   Colorado
Fort Bend County   Texas
Polk County   Florida
Tulsa County   Oklahoma
Kent County   Michigan
Johnson County   Kansas
Utah County   Utah
Brevard County   Florida
Lancaster County   Pennsylvania
Stanislaus County   California
Guilford County   North Carolina
Sedgwick County   Kansas
Volusia County   Florida

[jimrtex]

And another pass reducing the number from any state.  Order within each state is by population:

Maricopa County   Arizona

Riverside County   California
Kern County   California
Stanislaus County   California

Tarrant County   Texas
Collin County   Texas
Hidalgo County   Texas
Denton County   Texas

Salt Lake County   Utah
Utah County   Utah

Duval County   Florida
Lee County   Florida
Polk County   Florida

Gwinnett County   Georgia

Oklahoma County   Oklahoma
Tulsa County   Oklahoma

Davidson County   Tennessee

El Paso County   Colorado

Kent County   Michigan

Lancaster County   Pennsylvania

Guilford County   North Carolina

Sedgwick County   Kansas

[solarstorm]

solar, half of those counties you listed didn't even make sense.

I know. I just wanted to render assistance.
Jimrtex has already done the groundwork for us.

[solarstorm]

I'm stuck between Utah County and Tulsa County.

[SNJ1985]

Utah County, UT; Tulsa County, OK; and El Paso County, CO are definitely in the running.

[RedSLC]

Utah County, UT; Tulsa County, OK; and El Paso County, CO are definitely in the running.

No Kern County, CA? It was Proposition 8's strongest county (it passed by a 3-to-1 margin there), and also voted heavily in favor of restricting abortion and heavily against legalizing marijuana.

[SNJ1985]

Utah County, UT; Tulsa County, OK; and El Paso County, CO are definitely in the running.

No Kern County, CA? It was Proposition 8's strongest county (it passed by a 3-to-1 margin there), and also voted heavily in favor of restricting abortion and heavily against legalizing marijuana.

They're in the running too, then.

[jimrtex]

And another pass reducing the number from any state.  Order within each state is by population:

Maricopa County   Arizona included because it is more Republican than Pima, but overall too larger and divers.
 
Riverside County   California
Kern County   California (takes California)
Stanislaus County   California

Tarrant County   Texas
Collin County   Texas
Hidalgo County   Texas
Denton County   Texas

Salt Lake County   Utah Slat Lake has some non-Mormans.
Utah County   Utah

Duval County   Florida
Lee County   Florida
Polk County   Florida

Gwinnett County   Georgia Won by default over Fulton, DeKalb, and Cobb.

Oklahoma County   Oklahoma
Tulsa County   Oklahoma

Davidson County   Tennessee Defeated Shelby.

El Paso County   Colorado

Kent County   Michigan

Lancaster County   Pennsylvania

Guilford County   North Carolina Won over Mecklenburg and Charlotte.

Sedgwick County   Kansas

[jimrtex]

Mae suggestions for elimination.  Let's cut Texas and Florida down to one nominee.

Kern County   California

Tarrant County   Texas
Collin County   Texas
Hidalgo County   Texas
Denton County   Texas

Utah County   Utah

Duval County   Florida
Lee County   Florida
Polk County   Florida

Oklahoma County   Oklahoma
Tulsa County   Oklahoma

El Paso County   Colorado

Kent County   Michigan

Lancaster County   Pennsylvania

Sedgwick County   Kansas

[RedSLC]

Salt Lake County   Utah Salt Lake has some non-Mormons.

I should know fixed the spelling, BTW.

As for the others:

Kern County   California

Tarrant County   Texas Too much of downtown Fort Worth in here.
Collin County   Texas
Hidalgo County   Texas
Denton County   Texas Home to North Texas University, which will bring it down somewhat.

Utah County   Utah

Duval County   Florida
Lee County   Florida
Polk County   Florida     I'd say Polk is the most socon of the three.

Oklahoma County   Oklahoma
Tulsa County   Oklahoma

El Paso County   Colorado

Kent County   Michigan Too much of a swing county to be among the most socially conservative.

Lancaster County Pennsylvania

Sedgwick County   Kansas

[Flake]

Harris County   Texas
Maricopa County   Arizona
Orange County   California
Riverside County   California
San Bernardino County   California
Tarrant County   Texas
Bexar County   Texas
Hillsborough County   Florida
Orange County   Florida
Salt Lake County   Utah
Mecklenburg County   North Carolina
Fresno County   California
Pinellas County   Florida
Duval County   Florida
Kern County   California
Gwinnett County   Georgia
Collin County   Texas
Hidalgo County   Texas
Oklahoma County   Oklahoma
Denton County   Texas
Cobb County   Georgia
Lee County   Florida
Davidson County   Tennessee
El Paso County   Colorado
Fort Bend County   Texas
Polk County   Florida
Tulsa County   Oklahoma
Kent County   Michigan
Johnson County   Kansas
Utah County   Utah
Brevard County   Florida
Lancaster County   Pennsylvania
Stanislaus County   California
Guilford County   North Carolina
Sedgwick County   Kansas
Volusia County   Florida

[solarstorm]

Stanislaus County, California? Lol, no.

[TDAS04]

El Paso County, CO, actually voted for marijuana legalization.  Barely, but still.